Corset.



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ISAAC lV. BIRDSEY, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO BIRDSEY, SOMERS AND COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CORSET.,

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,960, dated August 20, 1901. Application filed May 3,1901. Serial No. 58,600. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, Isaac W. BIRDsnr, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bridgeport, county of Fairfield, State of Counecticut, have invented a new and useful Corset,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a corset so constructed that auxiliary stays may be inserted therein and removed at the 1o convenience of the wearer.

With this end in view my invention consists, first, in a corset provided with short corresponding stay-pockets adapted to receive the ends of auxiliary stays ordinarily shorter 1 5 than the principal stays; and my invention consists, secondly, in a corset having short stay-pockets formed by means of transverse folds in the corset-body turned inward toward each other and my invention consists,

eo thirdly, in a corset having upon its inner side short stay-pockets formed by means of transverse folds in the corset-body turned inward toward each other and upon its outer side 4principal stay-pockets, said principal stay- 5 pockets and auxiliary stay pockets being formed by the same lines of stitching.

It is well understood that the greatest breaking strain uponthe ordinary or, as I have termed them, principal stays of corsets is 3o at the sides thereof, and ithas heretofore been common to strengthen the sides of corsets with overlying or underlying sections provided with auxiliary stays lying parallel to the principal stays, as in patent to Allen, No.

270,360, dated January 9, 1883.

The important purpose of my present invention is to give to corsets all the advantages of auxiliary sections, whether overlying or underlying, without the increased weight 4o and clumsiness of auxiliary sections and without the additional cost of auxiliary sections, the increase in cost of my present construction being hardly appreciable, while I secure all the advantages that have heretofore been obtained by auxiliary sections without any of the disadvantages and with the additional and extremely-important advantage that the auxiliary stays may be inserted and removed or renewed at the convenience of the wearer and in an instants time. It is furthermore well understood that the object of auxiliary sections and auxiliary stays is to support and strengthen the principal stays of the corset. As corsets have heretofore been constructed,

if both principal and auxiliary stays became broken there was no means of repairing the damage. With my novel corset the wearer is enabled to replace a broken auxiliary stay in a moments time, or should it be desired at any time to lighten the corset or to make it 6o more flexible the desired result may be ac complished by the removal of all the supplemental stays.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, Figure l is an elevation illustrating the application of my invention to a half-corset; Fig. 2, an enlarged vertical section on the line 2 2, in Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is Van enlarged transverse section on the line 3 3 in Fig. 1. 7o

It should be understood that it is wholly unimportant so far as the principle of my'invention is concerned whether the auxiliary stay-pockets are upon the inner side or upon the outer side of the corset-body, or of what material the corset-body is made, or whether it is made in sections or in a single piece, or how many auxiliary stays are used or where they are used. In the drawings I have shown three auxiliary stays placed at the portion of 8o the corset known as the side thereof. More or less auxiliary stays maybe used, if preferred, or they may be used entirely around the corset.

10 denotes the body of a corset, and 11 the 85 principalstays,wliich liein pockets 12, formed by strips 13, secured to the body by vertical lines of stitching 14.

15 denotes auxiliary stays, and 16 auxiliary stay-pockets which are formed by means of 9o transverse folds 17 in the body of the corset, secured in place simultaneously With the formation of the pockets for the principal stays by the lines let of vertical stitching, which secure the strips 13 to the body, no trans- 95 verse stitching-in fact, no additional stitching whatever-being required by my present invention.

The simple requirement of my invention is that the transverse folds which form the .aux- Ico iliary stay-pockets be turned inward toward each othermthat is, that the upper folds be sufficient for the purposes of my invention. Y In use the auxiliary stays may be readily removed and as readily inserted by simply placing one end of the stay in a pocket and Iiexing the corset or the stay sufficiently to per mit the insertion of the other end.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-#- l. A corset having stay-pockets closed at the bottom and with their open ends facing each other, said pockets being formed by means of transverse folds in the corset-body which consists of a single ply of material, substantially as shown, for the purpose speciiied.

2. A corset provided with corresponding series of auxiliary stay-pockets formed by means of transverse folds in a body consist- In pracp ing of a single ply of material, turned inward toward each other, and With principal staypockets formed by vertical strips, said transverse folds being secured in place by the lines of stitching which attach the vertical strips.

3. A corset comprising a single-ply body and principal stay-pockets formed by stitching strips to the body, said body having transverse folds turned inward toward each other and secured by the lines of stitching which attach the strips, whereby auxiliary staypockets are formed which are adapted to receive removable auxiliary stays.

' 4. A corset having stay-pockets closed at the bottom and With their open ends facing each other, said pockets being' formed by means of transverse folds on the inner side of the corset-body which consists of a single ply of material, substantially as shown, for the purpose specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

ISAAC W. BIRDSEY.

Witnesses:

A. M. Woosrnn, S. W. ATHERTON. 

